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'How can I put this? Every time that I tried something different, he had a counter'
Boan Venter spent Valentine’s Day alone in self-isolation half the world away from his fiancée. Holed up in the plush Edinburgh district of Canonmills, his Scottish quarantine ended on Tuesday when the South African was free to begin training with his new team-mates.
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Venter is altogether happy with his lot. After leaving the Cheetahs, he has an exhilarating move to a club he has long hankered to join, and the security of a three-and-a-half-year deal in Scotland. But there is one glaring absentee, a conspicuous piece missing from the hulking prop’s puzzle.
Venter’s fiancée Jacomi is back in Bloemfontein. Jacomi is a newly qualified pharmacist, but must satisfy the South African government’s graduate requirements before she can work unfettered overseas. The couple will not see each other again until June, and for the next year, their time together will be desperately sporadic.
“It’s a bit of a p***er,” as Venter rather gruffly puts it. “Now, she has to do an internship. The real problem is next year – she has to do what’s called a Zuma year working for the government.
“If she doesn’t do that, she can’t get on the pharmacist’s roll and she won’t be able to come and work this side. We decided it might be better for her to stay until she is able to come and work here.
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“It’s not ideal, but prior to me signing with Edinburgh we had a chat about what we would do if the opportunity to sign overseas came. It’s not like we didn’t expect this situation. And if your eyes aren’t where your feet are walking, then you’re f***ed and you’re going to trip.”
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Venter is full of these quaint little wisdoms. “Your crank is always out there,” happens to be another favourite, an idiom of the old adage that no matter how tough you are, there will always be someone tougher.
A few of months shy of his 24th birthday, Venter learned that the hard way. In late January, his Cheetahs came up against Western Province in a Currie Cup match, pitting the young bull against the bruising old oxen, Frans Malherbe, a battle-scarred World Cup-winning Springbok.
“How can I put this? His experience came forward a lot,” the loose-head chuckles. “Every time that I tried something different, he had a counter. The thing is, at prop, you have to get creative. The first few scrums, you have to check your opponent out and decide how he is today, and make a quick decision on what you are going to do.
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“He did a very good job to counter all of my plans. I’m really keen to learn at Edinburgh, especially form the senior guys like WP Nel. I still have a lot to learn especially in these weather conditions. Every game is an opportunity to be like a sponge.”
Venter is a good age to come to Europe. The prop was an excellent performer this season, and caught the eye during the Cheetahs’ ill-fated stint in the Pro14. He is a real explosive bruiser in the loose and his scrummaging is fast becoming a major weapon.
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He also fits the recent Edinburgh mould of signing accomplished, ready-made professionals who still have lots of room for growth without costing the Earth. Jan McGinity, the recently departed Leicester recruitment chief, and formerly near the top of the performance department at Scottish Rugby, rates him highly and tried to sign him for the Tigers.
In fact, Venter eschewed interest from two Premiership teams to sign at Murrayfield, even though he will have to chisel away at the established pecking order, where the titanic Pierre Schoeman and Scotland’s first-choice loose-head Rory Sutherland vie for the number one jersey.
Yet, oddly enough for a boy from the Northern Cape, he has thought highly of his new club for several years
“Richard Cockerill told me not to come with the mentality that I’m third in line, that I should do my utmost to get to first and to keep grinding,” Venter says.
“Edinburgh is a club that I’ve long admired, the vibe here is fantastic, it has a rich rugby history and I can see that it’s very professional. To come and develop my rugby, this was the best place for me.
“I don’t just want to be known for my scrummaging. I’d like to give them stability in the set-piece and definitely some excitement with the ball and on defence, making some big hits, showing some speed and hitting some gaps. I want to be a rounded player.
“Following Pierre, WP Nel and all those guys on social media and looking at what they’re getting up to, their highlights from the weekends… I’m rugby-mad and I love knowing what is going on in the world of rugby. I don’t think this deal was a coincidence after me showing some interest in Edinburgh.
“I’ve spoken a bit to Pierre and him and his wife are having a hell of a time here, he’s playing really good rugby and the people here love him. I’m really excited to get in there, to really learn from them and grow in aspects.”
Graft is no turn-off for Venter; toil has been his currency for as long as he can remember. He and his younger brother were reared on their parents’ sheep farm. Hard work for a greater purpose was expected as soon as the Venter boys could hold a shovel.
“We were used to getting a spade in our hands and catching sheep from a young age. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. At the time it was all that I knew, I didn’t really see it as work. They were just everyday activities.
“The most special part of it was spending time with my family. We took that for granted back then, especially looking back from where I am now.
“It instils a habit of having a good work rate and knowing what you are working towards, and to know that there is always a bit more that can be done. The nature and the wildlife I will definitely miss. But I was on Google, and at least there is a zoo here, so I can pop in there any time.”
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If Venter is to make anything beyond the most occasional visit to Edinburgh Zoo, his agent must have sorted him out with a very handsome contract.
He will miss the lumbering beasts of the farmland, but he will also be shorn of a bit of lumbering himself. Venter is a keen enthusiast of a traditional Afrikaans dance style known as Sokkie. Wikipedia describes Sokkie as a form of ballroom dancing – as did Edinburgh in an introductory article about their new signing – but the big fella takes issue with that.
“They made me sound like a ballroom dancer! It’s nothing like Strictly Come Dancing,” he guffaws. “I don’t know if you’ve had a look on YouTube, but it’s not the same style, it’s not that stiff. It’s more for relaxation and socialising.
“It goes hand-in-hand with a few beers and it’s more about having fun and letting go than it is for concentrating on how many steps in which direction and where your head and your hands should be.
“We dance a lot at weddings. My brother is in that phase now, he’s 19 and that is definitely a big part of socialising. We have big dance halls where we can Sokkie and have a lekker dance, and sometimes a man has to man up and ask a pretty girl for a dance.”
Perhaps, instead, he can kilt up and trade Sokkie for an arm-yanking, lung-burning ceilidh. The drinking element will be no different. For the moment, Edinburgh will be keener to see him foxtrotting through tackles than lurching around the floor. And one day, hopefully before long, Venter’s dance partner will be able to join him.
“This is an opportunity I’ve prayed hard for, so for me now to moan and sulk seems a bit disrespectful because this is what I asked for and was blessed with,” he says.
“Jacomi and I have a 10-year plan. We know what we are working towards and what we have in one another.”
If it means cracking the Pro14 and playing Champions Cup rugby, he can live with a little long-distance romance.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
8 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
34 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
34 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
8 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
34 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
8 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
8 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to comments